Chisani powers Invaders

June 17, 2007|MARK BRADFORD Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- The Indiana Invaders dodged trouble early, then made some of their own with two quick second-half goals to defeat the Chicago Fire Reserves, 2-1, Saturday night in a pivotal Great Lakes Division game in the Professional Development League. The Invaders improved to 3-2-2 heading into next week's three-game road trip to Cleveland on Wednesday, defending national champion Michigan Saturday and then to Toronto on Sunday. Chicago, currently second in the division, fell to 5-2-3 The Invader offense continued to gel, catalyzed by former L.A. Galaxy player Momba Chisani. He scored the first goal and then began the sequence, which concluded with Saidi Isaac pushing the ball past the line to set the score at 2-0 in the 58th minute. "Momba is just finding his fitness," Invader coach Rick King said. "He has been working into shape as well as learning how to play with his teammates at the same time. To be honest with you, I feel a little sorry for the other teams once he settles in." Chisani's established momentum for the home team. After the Invaders survived a blown penalty kick by Reserve forward Neil Hlavaty in the 29th minute, they got away with an apparent handball in the box in the 52nd minute of play. Up until that point, the Invaders had several near scoring attempts, but Chicago goalkeeper Jovan Bobonja made nice plays to keep his scoresheet clean. Chisani went to work with Isaac in the 58th minute. On a give-and go, Chisani received the return pass from Isaac behind the defender and placed a hard shot into the net for a 1-0 edge. Three minutes later, Chisani controlled the ball barely 10 feet from the net but Bobonja was able to deflect it just as it appeared to cross the line. However, Isaac kept at it, kicking the ball into the hands of Bobonja at close range twice before it fell across the line. King said the key to the game was the blown penalty kick. "To be honest, if they score that goal, then they set in and defend," he said, "and that is what happened last time we played them. The other key to us scoring was our outside midfielders, Andrew Luttrell and Justin Morrow, played well, which opened up the middle for us." Chicago scored in the 88th minute of play when Drew Ratner headed in a perfect corner kick by Hlavaty. "Our defenders are still getting to know each other, too," King said. "Getting all of them to practice at the same time is hard because of work schedules and all that. To be honest, to beat this team is huge, because they are the team we want to be." INVADERS 2, CHICAGO FIRE RESERVES 1At the Invaders Complex IN: Momba Chisani (Saidi Isaac assist) 58th IN: Isaac 61st CHI: Drew Ratner (Neil Hlavaty) 88th Total shots: Chicago 12, Indiana 14. Shots on goal: Chicago 7, Indiana 8. Saves: Chicago 8 (Jovan Bobonja 6, team 2), Indiana 5 (Carl Waszozynski 3, team 2). Fouls: Chicago 10, Indiana 12. Corners: Chicago 6, Indiana 6. Offsides: Chicago 2, Indiana 0. Referee: Tony DeLois. Assistants: David Jarzee and Ben Trevino.